Get back to me form
We’ll answer your questions

In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dumped about 250 million gallons of oil—5 million bathtubs full—into the Gulf of Mexico. How catastrophic will the long-term impacts be?

Join researchers to investigate how the spill has affected wildlife populations, specifically the common loon, an especially vulnerable gulf-dweller.

Lots of people associate the haunting cry of the loon with northern latitudes. But after migrating astonishing distances, many of those same birds spend their winters in the Gulf of Mexico. Winter is a stressful time for loons – they’re adjusting to moving from freshwater lakes to the ocean, and they also undergo a complete wing molt, which makes them flightless for four to six weeks. Loons, then, may prove very sensitive to the gulf oil spill’s lingering effects.

You can help scientists find out exactly how these loons are doing. Experience the gulf at night as you go out in boats to capture and tag loons, record their measurements, and help scientists take blood and feather samples. You’ll also observe loon behavior during the day, scouting for birds on the water and recording what they do as they go about their birdly business.

You’ll also engage in research about other large sea birds like brown pelicans. You’ll help set up traps to capture them, and assist in handling the bird while the scientists draw blood and feather samples, weigh the bird and add leg tags, before release.

You’ll learn how to analyze blood and feather samples You’ll help scientists establish a long-term presence in the gulf so that they can tell the story of the loons and other large sea birds there. You’ll also have an unparalleled chance to help the gulf’s wildlife in the wake of one of the largest environmental crises in U.S. history.

Lead scientists

Accommodations and food

Why the research is important

Why the research is important

Loons are remarkable birds. They can dive more than 200 feet (61 meters) deep to catch their prey.

Animals that are high up in the food chain—like loons, which eat fish and shrimp—can tell us a lot about what’s going on in their environment.

Researchers are studying large sea birds in the Gulf of Mexico, like loons and pelicans, to look for signs that spilled oil is working its way up through the food chain. They already know that a loon’s body will absorb and store larger amounts of toxins like petroleum than it is able to expel, so if oil has entered the food chain of the Gulf, the loons’ bodies will provide evidence of it.

Chronic exposure to petroleum can harm loons and other large sea birds and may lead to death from starvation, disease, or predation. This could be especially dangerous for the gulf loons—if this research shows that they return to the same location every year to feed and molt (as we know loons that winter on the Pacific Coast do), they will be exposed to toxins from the oil spill for years.

Loons may prove very sensitive to the Gulf oil spill’s lingering effects.

Local people are also, of course, still recovering from this huge environmental disaster. Many boat captains lost their livelihoods when the spill devastated the gulf’s fishing tourism. Earthwatch researchers have involved some of these captains in the boat-based loon surveys, introducing them to a very different aspect of their valuable coastal community while also providing them with work. By joining us, you too will get to know this community—and have a hand in protecting it for years to come.

About the research area

Port Sulfur, Louisiana, United States, North America & Arctic

Join us for a journey to the historic and beautiful Mississippi River Delta. You’ll stay in the small town of Port Sulfur, Louisiana, in the middle of a nature lover’s paradise. The town is near the Delta National Wildlife Refuge and the Pass a Loutre State Wildlife Management Area, both home to iconic local wildlife like armadillos and alligators. The levee system right around Port Sulfur provides excellent coastal access for walks and bird-watching.

New Orleans, which you can explore before or after your expedition, is about an hour's drive from the study site. It has always been a fascinatingly diverse city, and Creole influences—zydeco music, jambalaya and gumbo—and Cajun influences—boudin sausage and crawfish—are still everywhere. The richness of New Orleans’ past also shows in its architecture: you can tour historic plantations, Creole cottages, colonial townhouses, and Greek revival mansions.

Day 7: One-week team members depart, free day for two-week team members

Day 8: New one-week team members arrive, free day for two-week team members

Days 9-13: See daily activities above

Day 14: All team members depart

When you arrive, the researchers will welcome you to their beautiful field environment and teach you the basics of working with loons and pelicans. Then, you will help:

Capture loons at night. In alternating groups, you’ll go out on the boat to capture loons from about 6 p.m. until midnight (if conditions permit). When the team catches one, you'll help take measurements and record data before releasing it. The morning after a night of loon capturing, you'll get to sleep in late.

Capture pelicans and cormorants during the day. These birds are more active during the day, so you'll take a boat out then to catch them, take measurements, record data, and release them.

Observe loon behavior. You'll find a loon on the water, then watch it for a half-hour and and classify its behavior—e.g., is it foraging? resting?

Lab work and data analysis. You'll help the researchers process bird blood samples and collect and organize all the data you record in the field.

In the evenings, you’ll head back to the field station for dinner, maybe an informal talk by one of the researchers, and time to relax.

Usually, those who are staying for two weeks will have Saturday (departure day for some volunteers) and Sunday (arrival day of new volunteers) as free periods to explore on their own. You can choose to take a day trip to New Orleans, visit a nearby wildlife refuge, or go on a group excursion arranged by the researchers.

The Scientists

Join Dr. Paruk in investigating how the spill has affected wildlife populations.

MEET THE LEAD SCIENTIST

Jim

Paruk

Senior Scientist at the Center for Loon Conservation at the
Biodiversity Research Institute

ABOUT Jim Paruk

Dr. Jim Paruk is investigating how loons are faring on the Louisiana shore of the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as well as how they are 2,000 miles north in Saskatchewan, Canada at their summer breeding grounds.

MEET THE OTHER SCIENTISTS

Accommodations and Food

Accommodations and Food

Couples and single rooms possible

Near nature trail

Heat and air conditioning

You’ll get the real field scientist experience by staying in a field house near the Gulf of Mexico, sharing a room with bunk beds with your fellow researchers. There’s also a shared kitchen, four shared bathrooms with showers, and a living room where you can relax after a day of research.

The field house offers WiFi and Ethernet Internet connections and has a laundry room that you can use for free.

Your team will shop for ingredients at the local supermarket and prepare most meals together at the field house, which has a grill in addition to the usual modern kitchen appliances. You’ll be able to cook to suit your tastes and prepare vegetarian options, if desired.

“Loons and the Gulf of Mexico.”

Though the area itself is a bit depressed, the voyages out on the boat were a lot of fun. If you're a birder, it's a wonderful experience to see sea birds especially. Lots of cattle egrets, and many others. We even saw an owl and a roseate spoonbill, not to mention 2 species of pelicans and the loons themselves. The field accommodations were new, spacious and comfortable, with all the amenities. I did not have any motion sickness on the boat, but we did have an unusual cold spell.

The team leader, Hannah, was great company and took excellent care of us, including being a talented cook. We did pitch in with the cooking and cleaning.

There were several visiting scientist talks, including a necropsy by Skype, which added greatly to our education.

I would like to do this team in Canada, at the other end of the migration. Too bad the spring teams are full already!

Star Rating:

0 stars

1 stars

2 stars

3 stars

4 stars

Susan Ogden|Monday, April 07, 2014

“Have you ever hugged a loon(or pelican?)”

This is a terrific opportunity to assist in the study of migratory loons and to learn about the ongoing and devastating effects of the BP oil spill. While we were participating, there was another oil spill in Texas. We were also privileged to see dozens of birds not ordinarily hanging about in the city creeks of the Northeast, such as the roseate spoonbill. Good balance between work and rec time. I highly recommend!

Also, visit New Orleans for a trip that ranges from the quiet yodel of the loon to the boisterous yodels of NOLA! Susan Ogden

Star Rating:

0 stars

1 stars

2 stars

3 stars

4 stars

Laura Wing|Sunday, April 06, 2014

“Astonishing Look at birds and the Gulf Oil Spill”

This was the first Earthwatch trip I have participated in other than a one day event monitoring tree growth and health in Cambridge, Mass.

I loved the trip and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a worthwhile adventure for any adult with drive and average physical strength and endurance. It took place in Port Sulphur, a small fishing port an hour south of New Orleans. We spent our days either in a small open boat looking for loons and then monitoring their behavior, or capturing Pelicans, taking blood samples, clipping a few feathers for analysis and tagging them. Two nights, until 2:00 in the morning, we spent again in the boat and tried to capture loons. The trip was important research on the impact of the oil spill on birds higher up in the food chain, with very comfortable shared accommodations and great food. Our leader was excellent, and the group was highly motivated, flexible and willing to do more than their fair share of the work. We are all still talking about our trip. This is a great opportunity to participate in a team of people for a great purpose, and if it works for you, as it did for me, then you will discover so many other Earthwatch opportunities to do similar things in other remote places all over the world.

Star Rating:

0 stars

1 stars

2 stars

3 stars

4 stars

Maria Patterson|Saturday, April 05, 2014

“Engaging, Important Expedition - Learned a Lot and Training Was Excellent”

I thoroughly enjoyed this expedition, which I was on for a week in March 2014. The work is important, the expedition is well organized, and the accommodations are very comfortable.

In addition to observing loons and recording their behavior, we expanded to brown pelican capture and assessment. They are also top avian predators so their health can tell a lot about the effects of the spill. It was a nice addition to the expedition especially since the full moon prevented us from netting any loons - spotlighting just didn't work with the brightness.

There are plenty of other birds, along with otters and dolphins. And on a trip to Venice, at the southern tip of LA, we saw lots of alligators too.

The expedition is very well organized. We spent the first morning with some education and training and then toured the area, both to orient us and to let Hannah decide where the most fruitful work sites would be. Other days of work and additional training on handling the birds left ample time in the afternoon for rest, reading or walking, and the night work on the boat was tiring and cold, but well worth the discomfort. Do bring lots of warm clothes though - no matter how warm it is during the day, sitting on a boat for several hours at night is going to get chilly. And don't forget suntan lotion for the day!

Housing is great - imagine - a dishwasher on an expedition!

Finally, Hannah is organized, smart and a great teacher, and our brief visit from Jim was wonderful. 5 Stars!